A slow-witted cartoon pig named McDull has been chosen ahead of the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, the kung fu film stars, as the face of Hong Kong this year.

The Hong Kong Tourist Board said it had "hired" McDull ahead of the island's more glamorous celebrities because he was totally scandal-free.

The tourist board also said his cartoon is a big hit with children on the Chinese mainland, who will hopefully drag their parents to Hong Kong for a holiday.

The ten million tourists who are expected to visit Hong Kong this summer will see posters of McDull around the city, a video of him discussing the finer points of the city, and a waxwork of him in the local branch of Madame Tussauds.

A spokesman for Madame Tussauds said it had taken over three months and 500 measurements for 21 sculptors to craft the wax replica.

McDull, who was created in 1988 by two Hong Kong artists, has starred in a series of animated movies.